Gita 2.3
Sankhya Yoga
क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते | क्षुद्रं हृदयदौर्बल्यं त्यक्त्वोत्तिष्ठ परन्तप ||३||
klaibyaṁ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha naitat tvayy upapadyate | kṣudraṁ hṛdaya-daurbalyaṁ tyaktvottiṣṭha parantapa ||3||
In essence: Arise!—the call that has echoed through millennia, demanding we abandon the petty weakness of heart and reclaim our birthright as warriors of the spirit.
A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply
Sadhak-Guru Dialogue
Sadhak: "Guru ji, Krishna uses such strong language—'impotence,' 'petty weakness.' In today's world, we would say this is toxic masculinity!"
Guru: "Would you? Tell me—if a soldier about to protect civilians suddenly dropped his weapon and said, 'I feel sad,' would you validate his feelings or remind him of his duty?"
Sadhak: "I would remind him of duty, but still... isn't there value in honoring emotions?"
Guru: "There is value in understanding emotions, not in being ruled by them. Krishna does not say 'Do not feel.' He says 'Do not YIELD'—mā sma gamaḥ. Feel the fear, feel the grief, but do not let it dictate your actions. This is not suppression; it is mastery."
Sadhak: "What does 'klaibyam' really mean? It seems offensive."
Guru: "It means the inability to perform your essential function. For a warrior, that function is to protect dharma. For any person, it is to manifest their svadharma—their own duty. When you KNOW what you should do but cannot DO it because emotions block you, that is klaibyam. It has nothing to do with gender and everything to do with the gap between knowing and doing."
Sadhak: "He calls the weakness 'petty'—kṣudra. Is he dismissing Arjuna's real suffering?"
Guru: "Not dismissing—reframing. From the perspective of the eternal Self, which Arjuna will soon learn about, his current fears ARE petty. Not because they don't feel real, but because they are based on a mistaken identity. You think you are a small person with huge problems. The truth is you are infinite consciousness with tiny, temporary challenges. Krishna is giving Arjuna the larger perspective."
Sadhak: "Why does he call him both 'Partha' and 'Parantapa'?"
Guru: "Partha means 'son of Pritha (Kunti)'—his mother who endured enormous hardship with courage. Parantapa means 'scorcher of enemies.' Both names remind Arjuna of his heritage and his achievements. Krishna is saying: 'You come from strength. You have BEEN strong. This weakness is not you.'"
Sadhak: "'Arise'—uttiṣṭha—seems so simple. Is that really the solution?"
Guru: "The simplest things are the hardest. When you are depressed, getting out of bed is revolutionary. When you are paralyzed by indecision, taking any action is liberation. 'Arise' means: stop waiting for conditions to be perfect, for feelings to be pleasant, for certainty to arrive. Stand up NOW, in the mess, with the confusion, despite the fear. That is the warrior's way."
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🌅 Daily Practice
As you wake, before letting the day's anxieties flood in, repeat internally: 'uttiṣṭha'—arise! Let your getting out of bed be a conscious act of spiritual declaration, not a grudging response to alarm clocks. Say to yourself: 'I choose to rise. I refuse to yield to the heaviness that wants me to stay small today.'
When you encounter a moment where you know what you should do but feel resistance, recall 'kṣudraṁ hṛdaya-daurbalyam'—this is just petty weakness of heart. Say to yourself: 'This fear is smaller than I am.' Take the action anyway—make the call, have the conversation, submit the work. Don't wait for the weakness to disappear; move through it.
Review the day and identify one moment where you yielded to 'klaibyam'—where you knew the right action but avoided it out of weakness. Without self-judgment, simply acknowledge: 'That was the gap between knowing and doing.' Then visualize yourself facing the same situation tomorrow and choosing to 'arise'—to act despite the fear. This mental rehearsal rewires the pattern.